Berlin 2012

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Ski Sep 2012 5:52pm, 29 Sep 2012 281 posts	0 Ski Breakfast run done, number on the Bib, bag packed and pasta meal eaten.....just got to rest now and try and sleep later! Good luck everyone and enjoy!
rosehip Sep 2012 7:16am, 30 Sep 2012 826 posts	0 rosehip bmw-berlin-marathon.com Those of us without Eurosport can watch on the web
BlueWombat Sep 2012 6:31pm, 30 Sep 2012 6,131 posts	0 BlueWombat Well, I ran it. First run in more than a month and I am pleased that I managed to keep running all the way through. I enjoyed the run, but I thought it was quite poorly organised, certainly the worst of the five majors. No one seemed to have given any thought to the logistics of crowd movement. It started in the registration when sewers forced to fight our way all through the crowded exhibition area to get to registration at the furthest point, then the registration area was too small and entry was through a narrow doorway, so there was a huge crowd backed up and static. Then today movement through the at/start area was dangerous and crowded because the had placed portaloos close to entry/exit points so they blocked the access, and the main routes were all blocked by lines of people waiting for the toilet, because they put the loos along the sides of the main routes. Finally there were visions of hillsborough at the start with people trying to climb over the 2mhigh fencing because the entry points to the pens were too arrow, and blocked by portaloos close by. Actually, that was not finally, the finish chute was gridlock again because so much space was taken up by barriers and people were not pushed through it effectively. I will be writing and-mail. It is the second time I have run it and none of the deficiencies I saw before seem to have been addressed. It seem liike the organisers could do with taking a look at the way things are done in NY, London,Boston or Chicago. Hmm.
BlueWombat Sep 2012 6:33pm, 30 Sep 2012 6,132 posts	0 BlueWombat Oh, and I hate autocorrect. You may have to translate some of the above!
dibbers Oct 2012 10:08pm, 3 Oct 2012 51 posts	0 dibbers BlueWombat. I agree totally. Getting to your clothing tent before the race was a nightmare too. Why were they so spread out and around the main traffic areas to the start. They could have put all the clothing tents around that big field in front of the Government buildings away from access to the start.
Shred Betty Oct 2012 9:00am, 4 Oct 2012 294 posts	0 Shred Betty Yup, same from me start was awful - queued for 45mins for the loo then about another 20 to get to the start, there was a gap in the fence of about a meter which everyone was trying to squeeze through! After that I really enjoyed it, not quite the support of New York (though still good), but much more room to run, the finish though the Brandenburg gate was amazing! Didn't find the congestion after the finish too bad, but I'm guessing I might well have been after the main rush, was nice having the park to sit in for a bit before heading off. I'd definately do it again, but would leave more time for the start next time!
Keefy Beefy Oct 2012 9:08am, 4 Oct 2012 7,874 posts	0 Keefy Beefy For future Berliners, if you stay in this hotel it works well. It's just on the western edge of the Tiergarten. I stayed there and you can simply walk down the course from the hotel (and not enter through the official village area), past the start line and get in place where you want. You're so close you won't need to bring baggage. We didn't plan it that way, we just walked to the course from the hotel and it turned out that way. We didn't even know there was a race village area till the end when we heard endless people who had nightmare experiences.
Keefy Beefy Oct 2012 9:08am, 4 Oct 2012 7,875 posts	0 Keefy Beefy Oops - link novotel.com
Scooby Dave Oct 2012 9:44am, 4 Oct 2012 160 posts	0 Scooby Dave Thanks for the heads up about the hotel KB. Looking to do this race next year.
Ultra Kanga Kazzaaaaah!! Oct 2012 12:53pm, 4 Oct 2012 15,184 posts	0 Ultra Kanga Kazzaaaaah!! The start area could do with some thought but other than that I had no issues with any aspect of the race. As my hotel was so close to the start I had decided not to bother with going to the loo before the start but in the end joined the queue in the pen which took 10 mins at most. I was in the last pen and didn't find it as unpleasantly crowded as at, say, London. Being a shortie I often find crowded places really quite scary but, apart from the scrum getting to the baggage area, I didn't find that. Race itself went really well till around the 35k mark when tbh I just got too hot and began to get that really odd spaced out feeling you get when you have a touch of sun stroke. Till then there'd only been around a minute difference between each 5k and I was on course to be close to a sub-4.45. In the end I finished in 4.50.50 which was a 28 minute course best (though 2010 was not a good year for me!). All in all a really good week away for me and I was very sad to leave yesterday. Good job that I'd decided early on in Sunday's race that I'll be back next year - if only for a flying visit!!